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Gin and Tolstory (Summer 2018): Book 4

10 replies

KeithLeMonde · 01/07/2018 17:32

Discussion thread for group 1, book 4

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KeithLeMonde · 01/07/2018 17:33

Tolstoy! Tolstoy dammit!

Fingers just automatically type "story" somehow

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diamantegal · 02/07/2018 18:16

I think this is mine!

So, I chose this one because I'm hoping it's a book lots of people will have heard of, but never actually read. It's a classic of its genre, and while that genre may not be too everyone's taste, I hope people will still find it interesting to read.

One request - bear with it! It can be slow and a bit detailed at times, but I think that's because we're used to much more modern versions of this kind of story, which just move at a much greater pace, but without some of the slow build which is a big part of why I enjoy this book.

Enjoy!

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diamantegal · 03/07/2018 23:32

Dammit, just re-read my post and spotted the typo. It may not be TO everyone's taste. I blame autocorrect!

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RosehipHoney · 07/08/2018 21:55

Belatedly posting my thoughts...
I did sink a little when I saw the book, as just didn't really fancy it, though had never read, but heard of it. However...once I started I loved it. Detective Lebel is perfect, and actually, I really enjoyed reading something set in the sixties, with phone boxes and telegrams and immensely clever plotting. I read a lot of modern crime fiction, and this stood out as excellent. I did skim read some pages of very detailed car engine/gun adapting technical detail, but otherwise

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diamantegal · 11/08/2018 22:35

Phew! I did worry that it wouldn't be something people would want to read, but thanks for persevering. Fingers crossed the next person agrees!

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iloveredwine · 30/09/2018 07:42

To be honest I really struggled with this one. I never actively looked forward to sitting down for a hour to read this. It has taken all month to read it and it was ok. Not one I would read again as I found it very drawn out. Hopefully the next reader enjoys it more.

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diamantegal · 30/09/2018 23:13

Oh dear, sorry! I really struggled choosing a book for this. I think if nothing else, it's taught me that while a book club sounds great in theory, I don't want the responsibility of choosing books. Hopefully the chocolate compensated for my poor taste in books!

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iloveredwine · 01/10/2018 08:50

It wasn't a poor book just not my cup of tea. I am confident one of the next people on the list will love it! The chocolate was lovely1😉 .

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tobee · 24/01/2019 14:36

So I've finally found the thread for this one!

Sorry @diamantegal, I can't get my own back with your choice after your opinion of mine!

After seeing the original film of this book millions of times, I read it first about 20 years ago. And, funnily enough, listened to the audio book of it a couple of weeks ago.

So I totally agree with you, it's a very good example of its type. I really enjoy it and the historical context is very interesting to me. It's a great story of a manhunt. Also, the plot is believable.

I also enjoy comparing it to the film. It's a very faithful adaptation of the book. The book, obviously, has far more background detail, with the politics of the time being expanded upon.

I think it's a very entertaining tale!